Machine and method for making wire glass.



' N. FRANZEN.

MACH|NE AND METHOD FOR MAKING WIRE GLASS.

` APPLICATION FILED DEC.`5. I9I2.

- Patented Apr.- 13, 1915.

INVENTOR NICKLAS FRANZEN, OF FLOREFFE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR O ONE-HALF TO PITTS- BURGH PLATE GLASS COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE AND METHOD EOE MAKING WIRE eLAss.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnted App; 13, 1915-;l

Y, "Original application filed May 8, i909, $eria1 No. 494,858. Divided and this application filed December 5*,

1912. Serial N0.73 5,1126.

To'all @01mm it may concern."

Be it known that I, NICKLAs FRANZEN, residing at Floreffe, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Machines and Methods for Making Wire Glass,'ofwhich improvement'the following is a specification.

The present application is a division of my pending application, Serial No. 494,858 ,iled May sul, 1909.v

My invention relates to the manufacture of Wire glass by What is called the one pour operation, that is, the operation in which a single batch of molten glass is spread against a supporting surface tosheet form with Wire incorporated Within it. The object of my invention is to render this vone-'pour operation of greater practical value than it'V has heretofore been. l

In the vaccompanying drawing, which forms part'of my specification, andA in Which myvinvention is illustrated, Figure 1 is a plan View of my improved machine; and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section thereof.

Like numerals are used to designate like parts. l

In the practice of my invention I form a layer of hot and plastic glass upon a suitable sustaining or forming surface, the exposed surface of the glasshaving protru'sions preferably regular in form and extending substantially transversely of such layer; .and I sink a web of wire through the body of such protrusions preferably to the bottom of the spaces or depressions betweenvadjacent protrusions, without. disturbing or distorting theirform except in so far as. they are cut by the -vvire which enters therein.l In order to thus sink the Wire through the body of the protusions, I preferably engage the web of wire .at points spaced equal to their width so that the engaging means will, when sinking the wire through the protrusions, extend into the intervening spaces. Means are also provided for smoothing or otherwise surfacing the roughened surface of the glass afterthe wire has been sunk through the protrusions thereof. v

The forming surface may, as illustrated in the drawing, be a plane faced table 1; the

spreading of the glass into a corrugated faced sheet may be effected by means of a roll 2; the embedding of the web of wire into the protrusions or eorrugations of such sheet may be effected by a second roll 3; and

the final smoothing or Vsurfacing of the sheet may be effected by means of a roll 4. The several rolls 2, 3 and 4, may be mounted in a suitable housing (not shown herein) and `the table l moved relatively to said housing 1n a manner well understood by those skilled or other fluid, which may be fed upon the surface of the roll by means of the wick 6, such surface moistening of the roll being desirable in order to form a film between the plastic mass of glass and the surface of the roll adjacent thereto, thereby preventing a cooling of the surfaceof the sheet of glass'.

The Wire embedding roll 3 is preferably of .thefsame diameter as the roll 2, and the surface thereof is provided with corruga tions of the same width and extending in the same direction as the corrugations of the roll 2. Preferably, however, the grooves in the roll 3 are deeper than those in thesheetformin roll 2. The-rolls 2' and 3'are`so arranged that the protrusions formed by roll 2, in the progress of the operatiomregister with andl enter the grooves of roll 3; butfthe protrusion on the surface of the glass being formed by the shallower grooves of the roll 2will not iill the grooves ofthe roll 3. The-surface ofthe sheet, therefore, will not be inaterially chilled or materially disturbed by roll 3 except in causing the wire to cut through the body of the protrusions and come to a position within the sheet approximately atthe low points'of the surface of the glass, between them. f

' The web of wire 7 is preferably fed over the face of the roll 3 as indicated in Fig. 2. In order to effecten accurate and satisfactory placement of the fwire within the glass, the wire, as it is fed/ to the glass over the surface'of the roll- 3, is held under tension by means of a small roll 8. The web of 'y wire 7 is engaged simultaneously by the sur- .faces of the rolls Sand 8 and is thereby held i beneath the surfacing roll 4, This is advantageous, in that the danger of havingl oneA ofthe ridges fold over into one of the troughs, and of entrapping'air in folding.

overis guarded against.

In the operation ofthe machine my improvement in metho'dsfis elfected. A batch 4 of molten glass 9, teemed upon the table l,

isvspread to sheet rform beneath the corrugated roll 2, the moistening of the surface of such roll preventing a chilling of the surface of the glass formed thereby.' The layer sojspread then comes beneath the corrugated wire-embedding roll 3, and the web of wire e 7, engaged by the projections of said roll is sunk into the body of each protrusion to the bottom ofthe intervening depressions. The Wire is thereby placed definitely into the surface of the glass within a minimum amount of contact between the wire embedding roll and the surface of the glass.

I claim herein as my invention:

l. The method herein described of making wire-glass which consists in, first, spread-- ing 'a batch of molten glass to layer form with, protrusion's upon its surface, second, while maintaining such protrusions free from chilling contact with any instrumen tality, sinking a web of wirethrough such protrusions by pressure localized and concentrated upon the web at intervals correspending to the intervals between the succ essive protrusions, and, third,` surfacing the layer.

2. In a machine for making wire-glass, the combination of a forming surface, means for spreading thereon a layer of glass with protrusions upon its surface, means for engaging a web of wire at intervals corre-- sponding to the intervals between successive protrusions on such layer and, without chilling contact with said protrusions, pressing such web into. such layer causing the wire to cut into the body of said protrusions, and means for surfacing the layer, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for making wire glass, the combination of a forming surface, a roll provided with corrugations extending coni tinuously thereon from end to end, such roll arranged to coperate with said forming surface and to spread thereon a layer of glass with ridges extending upon its surface continuously from edge to edge, a second corrugated roll whose corrugations correspond in space, width, and direction with .the corrugations of said first named roll,

said second corrugated roll also arranged to coperate withsaid forming surface and to sink aweb of wire through the ridges upon the surface of a layer of glass formed beneath said first named roll.

4. In a machine for making wire glass, the combination with a glass-sustaining surface, of a roll provided with continuous spiral corrugations coperating with said surface to sink a web of wire into soft glass, and means for gradually closing from one end to the other the grooves formed in such surface, and covering the wire contained therein, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for making wire-glass, the combination with a forming surface, of two rolls arranged parallel one with the other and with the forming surface and spaced at intervals from the forming surface, the said surface on the one hand and the said rolls on the other being mounted and adapted for relative movement, the leading roll being 'spirally grooved and the following rollbe-` 111g ungrooved and spaced at a greater.in

terval from the table than the outermost substantially periphery of the leading roll, as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

NICKLAS FRANZEN.

Witnesses FRANoIs J. ToMAssoN, PAUL N. Carrol-mow. 

